Why Design?

Sometimes, I realize just how lucky I am. I was raised by two awesome parents, made it through high school graduation, have had the opportunity to travel the world, and have been studying something I love for just under four years. Pretty awesome if you ask me. I often get so caught up in the stress of thinking about graduation, getting a job, and becoming a "real person" that I forget just how amazing my life is.

Anyway, I'm feeling extremely thankful for the way my curriculum is set up this semester. With the former events lingering over me, it can be pretty overwhelming to think about putting together a portfolio and gathering myself enough to think about job interviews. Thankfully, one of my required courses this semester is Professional Practice - a class in which we take a look at the business side of design and prepare ourselves to begin careers in design. So far, we've been talking a lot about what potential employers are looking for during an interview and how to really present yourself well.

The first prompt given was to think about our personal design philosophy. In other words, what does design mean to you? or why do you design? Talk about a tough question. There are so many reasons I love to design, but I really boiled down why I love it so much in just two short sentences.

Here goes nothing:

Finished project: We were required to include a photo, font, and quote 

representing ourselves as designers.

I realize the text may be hard to read without making the image full-size, so here's what it says:

"Design involves empathy for those inhabiting the spaces around you. I design to create positive change in the way people experience their environment, and ultimately the world at large."

After thinking about this prompt, I can finally answer the question "Why do you design?" with confidence.

Cheers!